St Helens South was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Boundaries The Borough of St Helens wards of Eccleston, Grange Park, Marshalls Cross, Parr and Hardshaw, Queen's Park, Rainhill, Sutton and Bold, Thatto Heath, and West Sutton.
The constituency was one of two covering the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, the other being St Helens North. It contained the southern part of the borough including the town centre of St Helens, the south of the town, Clock Face and Rainhill.
Following recommendations made by the Boundary Commission for England, St Helens South was replaced with a new St Helens South and Whiston constituency, which includes three wards from Knowsley borough.
History The forerunner seat had been represented by members of the Labour Party since 1935.
The constituency was formed in 1983, and was represented by Labour's Gerry Bermingham from then until he stood down in 2001. He was replaced by Shaun Woodward, who had defected from the Conservatives to Labour in December 1999. Woodward was deemed unlikely to retain his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire as a Labour candidate (it was subsequently won by David Cameron, future Leader of the Conservatives and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), and was instead selected for this safe seat. Woodward had won all three elections however he lost his position in the cabinet because of the Labour party defeat to the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government in the 2010 general election.
Members of Parliament ElectionMember Party Notes 1983 Gerry Bermingham 2001 Shaun Woodward Member for Witney (1997–2001)Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2007–2010)Contested St Helens South and Whiston following redistribution 2010 Constituency renamed: see St Helens South and Whiston
Elections Elections in the 1980s 1979 notional result Party Vote % Labour 27,385 56.8 Conservative 16,052 33.3 Liberal 4,460 9.3 Others 296 0.6Turnout48,193Electorate
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 2000s
See also St Helens South and Whiston Parliamentary constituencies in Merseyside
Notes and references
External links St Helens South UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK